Copyholder



SPt 28, 1943- E L ELLlo-rT i 2,330,777

' v cory HOLDER l original Filed Nov. 20, 194 2 sheets-Sheet 1 n y 13 I Sept. 28, 1943. E.' l. ELLIOTT coP Homann original Filed Nov.v 2o, 1940 2 sheets-sheet 2 MiG/i9@ "ff-- ATroRNEY Patented Sept. 28, 19,43

CoPYnoLDER f Edward L. Elliott, Woodside Park,lldad.,.assignor y to Federal Business Machines Corporation, Washington, D. C., a corporation of Delaware Original application November 20,1940, Serial No. 366,463. Divided and this application November 23, 1942, Serial N0. 466,632V

(Giza-66) s 8 Claims.

This invention relates to copy holders for successively exhibiting Alines of text with reference to a guide, and it comprises more particularly the construction which accommodates copy of various widths and secures it in 'a position for accurate alignment of the text with the guide.` y

The present application is a division 'of my prior, c'o-pending application SerialNo. 356,46; p

filed November 20, 1940.

Although copy `holders may be employed for a variety of uses incidentalV to the `preparation of written text material," they yare most extensively employed in conjunction withthe ordinary ltypewriter and as an adjunct to `type settingmachinery. In either case, the copyist is confronted with succeeding'sheets of copy material which are likely to beef differing widths.,` Asa consequence, successive copying operations may involve substantial changes in the requirements of the copy holder from the standpoint of the sise of copy to be supportedv and retained.

Most commercial copy holders now in use will only accommodate copy of a width either equal to or less than the width of the co-py supporting panel. Thus, if it is necessary vto copy text from a sheet or sheets vwhich are wider vthan the supporting panel of the copy holder, those margins of the sheets which extend beyond the holder are unsupported. This results not only in a failure of initial alignment, but the edges of the retained sheet are blown and unsteadied by air currents as well as distorted by curling, which is normal to thin paper,

Misalignment of any portion of the copy will necessarily result in inaccurate designation by the line guide thereby increasing the likelihood of error in copying and reducing the efiiciency of the copy holder to such an extent v'that its v'use for wide copy is hardly feasible.

Although some attempts have `been made'to provide-for the support of copy widerthan the supporting panel of the copy holding device, these have been characterized by `failure to provide apparatus whereby rapid and accurate location of the papers is possible consistent with firm support during any normal copying operation.

It is therefore an object achieved by this invention to provide a copy holder which is adjustable to accommodate sheets of copy of a wide variety of sizes and at the same time to permit quick and accurate positioning of the sheet to align its text with the copy'holder guide. Other objects and :advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description and drawings wherein:

Figure w1 is a front view of the copy holder, showing the copy holding panel in extended'position in dotted lines.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary front view of a modied form of the invention adapted for support of copy not wider than the panel of the holder.

f Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken alo-ng the line 3-f-3 of Figure l.

fFigure 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 4--4 of Figurel.

Figure 5 is a perspective view ofthe copy clamping means.

Figure 6 is a perspective View of the supporting bars for awide line guide. c Figure 7 is a perspective view of the wide line guide `normally mountedon the bars shown in Figure 6. K

Figure`8 is a perspective `View of the supporting bar for the wide copy grippers. c

Figure 9 isa perspective view of oneof the grippers used on the bar shown in Figure 8. Referring more particularly to the drawings:

The copy holder shown consists of a base IB, a vertical standard or guide I I attached thereto, and a copy supporting member I2 slidably' mountd for telescoping movement on standard I I. The standard I`I is formed with guides I3 along the opposite vertical edges thereof and witha top flange I4 of a depth substantially equal to that of the guides I3. The copy supporting member `I2 consists of a front plate which is slightly wider than the standard II formed with vertical side flanges which embrace the guides I 3. A top wall IB extends rearwardlyof thecopy support I2 and is co-extensivewith the side flanges.

A copy gripping device is attached to supporting member I2 and serves to hold sheets of paper or other copy thereon. This device comprises primarily a flat bar I1 extending for the full width of the copysupport I2 and a pair of L- shaped ilat strips I8; one shank of each of which extends upwardly from either end of flat ber Il while the other shankextendsrearwardly across the top 'Iof vsupporting member I 2 in a plane Vat right angles to the plane of bar I'I. Strips I8,

at their` ends remote from bar I1, are connected by a barrel I9 whichincludes two downwardly projecting tabs 2). Each tab 2!! is attached bv spot welding or .in other suitable manner toa leaf spring ZI `which in turn is secured to the `rear lface Aof copy supporting member I2, at 22. Thesprlngs 2| are normally under such tension that they4 tend tonholdthebar I'I firmly `against the front face 'of copy `supporting member I2.

It will be readily understood that in constructing sho-wn in Figure 5.

'its long edges.

the copy gripper device -bar l?, strips I8, barrel I9 and tabs 2li may be stamped from a single blank and may thereafter be bent into the form The fiat surface of bar Il which faces the copy support I2 has a continuous strip of resilient gripping material 23 such as sponge rubber a'xed to it. A thumb rest 24 is attached to the center of top wall I5 of the member I2. In the construction shown in Figure 2 the barrel I9 has detachably received therein one arm of a U-bar 25. U-bar is mounted for pivotal movement about barrel I9 as an axis, the free arm thereof extending rearwardly of the back wall I5.

When copy is to be held on the supportingmember I2 in reading position, the operator may grasp barrel I 9 and thumb rest 24 Ywith his fingers and press them toward one another. This will result in compression of springs 2| and the forward movement of strips I8 and bar I'I carried thereby. Thus, vb ar I'I will be moved away from the face of the support I2. AOnce gripping strip 23 and front faceof the support I2 are spaced suciently for apart to accommodate ka sheet or sheets `of -copy therebetween, such copy is inserted andan edge thereof is pushed up until it cornes to rest against the lower surfaces of the shanksfof strips AIS which are'at right angles to the `long axis ofthe plate I2 and hence to the paper `held thereagainst. These Shanks of strips I 8 serve `to align .the paper on the supporting member I2 for the reason-that they lie in a plane parallel to its top I6. Once the paper is in position, thumb vgrip 2d and barrel I9 vare released. Springs 2l thenmove tonermal position as shown in Figures 3 and 4V thereby compressing the sheet or sheets of Acopyfbetween gripping strip`23 Jand the front face of the supporting plate I2. Since gripping strip 23 is continuous for the fullflength of bar ITI, the copy will be held firmly in aligned position during the ordinary manipulation of the copy helder. c i

If material is -to be copied from a sheet of a bound volume, such as a stenographers noteboolnthe topedge of bar I I is used as a sight lineto align the copy while pages knot in use may be Athrown back over the top I6 and held bythe free arm of U-member 25. Since U- l member 25 is mounted for pivotal movement in barrel I9, the distance of the free arm thereof from .the back of ysupport I2 may `be adjusted to accommodate any number of pages up to a cumulative thickness equal to the length of the radial arm `of the U-member.

Inasmuch as the material to be copied is held between the gripping strip 23 and the face of the copy supporting member t2, it will hang downwardly parallel to thel front face of the support. In order to designate a particular line tobe read, a line designating guide 26 vis ordinarily employed. Guide 26 is mounted to eX- tend across the face of `the support in 'spaced relation with respect thereto. It consists of a flat rstrip formed with a .barrel -21 along one of One shank of a U-bar y28 is mounted in this barrel While the othershank is pivotally mounted in a similar barrel'29 attached to the rear face of the standard I I. When copy is being attached to the copy support and it is desired to have line designating guide 26 out of the Way, U-.bar 28 is moved about its axis in barrel `29 until the radial arm thereof is substantially at right angles to the long axis ofthe copy support. This will leave ample space betweenY the face of the support and the line designating guide to permit easy adjustment of the paper in the manner heretofore described.

When material is being supported for movement past line designating guide 26 it is normally held solely by the clamping bar l1. It will be noted that this bar is co-extensive with the supporting panel I2. Normally this panel will be of a width to accommodate at least ordinary paper, i. e. eight and a half inches. According to this invention, however, it is possible to support copy of a Widthconsiderably in excess ofnormal. To this end the wide line designating guide and wide copy holder shown in Figures l, 3, 4, 8 and 9 are employed. As has been stated, line designating guide 26 is mounted on a U-shaped bar 28, one shank of the U- bar being inserted in a barrel 2l provided on the line guide while the other shank extends into barrel 29 attached to the standard II. When .lines of copy of a width in excess of the width of the copy holder are to be placed in .the machine, the shank of U-bar 28, located in the barrel of line designating guide 25, is separated therefrom and the projecting end of a wide line designating guide 2S is passed thereinto. In this instance the shank of U-bar 28 is supplanted by a pair of oppositelyextending U- bars 28', the ends of which enter the barrels 2 and 29 respectively. The separate U-bars so employed are shown in Figure 6.

While it is evident by consideration of Figure 2 that bar il would .serve at least to a certain extentto align and hold copy on the support panel I2, it is also evident that when the copy is of a width such that it extends considerably beyond the panel I2 on either side, the edges of thecopy not held by bar I7 will not maintain -their aligned position, since the paper Will not be .sufficiently ,sti to maintain its upper edge on a straight line. The action of gravity as well as the yaction of air currents will normally cause the free ends of the copy to fall below the horizontal plane designated by the lower surfaces of horizontal Shanks of strips I8 which serve as aligning means. To overcome this difdculty, heretofore considered insuperable, a bar 3l) having copy grippers 3| therein is employed. Bar 30 is used in substitution for U-member 25 (Figure 2) which is removed from barrel I9 for the purpose. One of the shanks of bar 30 is then inserted in barrel I9 until the end of the other shank can be aligned and inserted in the opening at the other end of the barrel I9. Bar 30 is then aligned as shown in Figure 1. Copy grippers 3i are each provided with a barrel 32 for slidable mounting of the grippers on rod 30 thereby to accommodate copy of any width up to the overall length of the bar 30.

With reference to Figure 9 it will be noted that the copy Srippers SI are reversely bent to define a spring lip 33 extending downwardly and at the fold 314 defining a limiting surface beyond which copy may not be inserted. The limiting surface at fold 34 is so positioned that it will lie in the same horizontal plane as the limiting surface constituted by the undersurfaces of the strips I8 which are parallel to the top I6 of support I2. This arrangement is accomplished since the forward run of rod 30 rests on the top of Strips I8. In this connection attention is called to Figures 3 and 4. Thus, when rod 30 is placed in operation, copy grippers 3| may have their spring lips 33 aligned with the underside of strip I8 merely by forcing the forward run of rod 3U down into contact with the upper surface of strips I8.` This eliminates vchance of' error since regardless of how many times rod 30 may be removed and replaced, once it is inserted in barrel, I9 it is only necessary to swing bar 30 forward to `point of contact with strips I8 to insure alignment of the copy grippers 3l in such a way that they will cooperate with copy gripper "I'I in aligning 4the same edge of a piece of copy. Theoperation of the copy holder as a whole, when rod 30 and grippers 3l are attached, is similar to the operation heretofore described. In releasing the paper, however, it is necessary separately to release the edge from each of the grippers 3| in addition to effecting the release of bar I'I. The lips of grippers 3| are opened by applying pressure to the base of the spring lip 33. It will be recognized that limiting surface 34 will be aligned with the limiting surface of L-strips I8 when the clip is in closed or gripping position as shown in Figure 9. The centrally raised portion in the forward run of rod 30 overlies the thumb piece 24 and facilitates separation of bar I'I from the copy support I2 in the insertion and removal of papers.

In operation of the copy holder the line guide 26 remains in fixed horizontal positio-nbecause of its attachment to the standard II,while the copy support I2 is raised and lowered with respect thereto. The means for adjusting the support with respect to the standardv is disclosed in detail in my co-pending application Serial No. 356,463, previously acknowledged. In brief, it comprises means for advancing the copy support with respect to its standard in a step-by-step movement and to hold the support in each of its adjusted positions while text on any particular line is being copied.

Although the foregoing description has been `concerned with the preferred embodiment of this invention, it will be understood that many modications of the illustrated construction may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a copy holder, a copy support, a releasable clamp coacting therewithfor holding copy thereagainst, means constituting a part of said clamp for aligning copy gripped thereby, and means extending laterally of said copy support, said means including copy grippers located laterally beyond said copy support, the copy grippers also including aligning means in the same plane as the aligning means of the main clamp, whereby copy wider than said copy support may be held in aligned position thereby.

2. In a copy holdera copy support, a releasable clamp coacting therewith for holding copy thereagainst, means constituting a part of said clamp for aligning copy gripped thereby, and detachable means extending laterally beyond said copy support, said means including copy grippers located laterally beyond said copy support, the copy grippers also including aligning means in the same plane as the aligning means of the main clamp, whereby copy wider than said copy support may be held in aligned position thereby.

3. In a copy holder, a copy support, Va releasable clamp coacting therewith for holding copy thereagainst, means constituting a part of said clamp for aligning copy gripped thereby, and means detachably mounted on said clamp and extending laterally beyond the copy holder, said means including copy grippers located laterally beyond said copy support, said copy grippers including'aligning means in the same plane as'the aligning means of the main clamp, whereby copy Wider than said copy support may be held in aligned position thereby.

' 4. Ina copy holder, a copy support, a main clamp 'coacting therewith for holding copy' thereagainst,said main clamp being resiliently urged `to bear against said copy support but movable to release copyheld thereagainst, said main clamp including means adapted to coact with an edge of copy placedthereunderto align thelatter, a member detachably mounted on said main clamp and extending laterally beyond the copy holder, and copy grippers slidably mounted on said member for lateral movement, a part of said grippers being adapted to coact with an edge of copy placed therein to align the latter, said part of said grippers being in the same horizontal plane as the means of vsimilar function constituting a part of said main clamp, whereby copy of a width in excess of the widthof said copy support may be held in aligned position.

5. In a copy holder, a copy support, a main clamp coacting therewith for holding copy thereagainst, said main clamp presenting an unbroken gripping surface extending the entire width of the copy support, said main clamp being resiliently urged to bear against said copy support but movable to release copy held thereagainst, said main clamp including means adapted to coact with an edge of copy placed thereunder to align the latter, a member detachably mounted on said main clamp and extending laterally of the copy holder, and copy grippers slidablyA mounted on said member for lateral movement, a part of said grippers being adapted to coact with an edge of copy placed therein to align the latter, said part of said grippers being in the same-horizontal plane as the means of similar functions constituting a part of said main clamp, whereby copy of a width in excess ofthe width of said copy support may be held in aligned position.

6. In a'copy holder, a copy support, a -releasable clamp coacting therewith for holding copy therea-gainst, a part of said clamp serving to align copy gripped thereby, movable means detachably mounted on said clamp and extending laterally of said copy support, copy grippers -mounted on said means, said grippers each including a surface adapted to align copy placed therein, the part of the clamp serving to align copy also serving to align themovable means when i1; is moved into contact therewith so that the aligning surface of the grippers lies in the same horizontal plane as said part, whereby copy wider than the copy holder can be held by both the clamp and the grippers in aligned position.

'7. In a copy holder, a copy support, a copy clamp having a downwardly extending jaw for coaction with the upper portion of said copy support to clamp copy therebetween and a rearwardly extending portion constituting an abutment for aligning copy by engaging the edge thereof as the same is mounted in position to be clamped, spring means normally urging the downwardly extending jaw of said clamp against said copy support, a member carried by said clamp and movable therewith to clamping and released positions, a pair of copy retaining clips adjustably mounted on said member for movement thereon, said clips being formed with abutments in alignment with the abutment of said'clamping means whereby copy secured therein is positioned by reference to its upper edge in contact with such abutments.

unclamping positiomseiid member extending laterally beyond seid eopysupportspring ciips slidably mounted on said member for securing copy at spaced points at either end of said clamp, said clips each comprising oy depending portion, a, re- Versely bent arcuate portion and a Het downwardly extending lip opening to receive copy when said clip iscompressed to Hatten said arcuettely curved portion.

t EDWARD L. ELLIOTT. 

